FORMER Tory minister Rod Richards admits alcoholism is killing him and says he is considering checking into a rehabilitation clinic.

FORMER Tory minister Rod Richards yesterday admitted that alcoholism was killing him and said he was considering checking into a rehabilitation clinic in a final bid to beat his addiction.

In an admission which has shocked the Conservative Party hierarchy in Wales, Mr Richards laid bare the extent of the problem which has left his political and personal life in ruins.

He said, "I have to dry out and say the words 'I am an alcoholic'.

"If I don't dry out I will die. I know I am killing myself. I am not eating; I can't eat."

Last month Mr Richards was found drunk at Llandaff Fields in Cardiff and was taken to hospital. Yesterday he admitted that it was not the first time he had "keeled over and crashed out, drunk out of my tiny mind".

He also revealed that he had spent time in a psychiatric hospital because of his drink problem.

The disclosures make it even less likely that the former minister will regain his place in the Tory fold.

He said he did not know whether he would face disciplinary action from the Conservative Party.

"The party is not my priority," he said. "I am saying this to clear the decks. People have been talking about it for a long time and I need to get it into the open.

"Can I dry out? Will it work? That's the big question, isn't it? I'm going to give it my best shot.

"I'm not thinking of the party or my political career.

"I have a condition, an illness if you like. If you have a broken leg, then it's in plaster and you can see it, but this is a mental thing, something a lot of people suffer from."

Mr Richards said the approach taken by another senior politician, former Welsh Secretary Ron Davies, could have been in the back of his mind when he decided to make his admission.

"It hasn't done Ron any harm. I understood Ron from the very beginning and I never passed judgment on him. He's a nice guy, a really nice guy."

Mr Richards said he had no intention of making any decisions about his appeal to be included on the list of approved candidates for the next National Assembly election until he had been treated for his alcoholism.

"I don't know about my political future. I will take advice on whether I need to go into a clinic to dry out; it is possible I will need to."

The chairman of the Welsh Conservatives, Henri Lloyd Davies, said he was surprised by many of the disclosures.

"I was not aware that he had sought psychiatric and medical treatment in the past for his alcoholism," he said.

Mr Lloyd Davies said that Mr Richards had made a super contribution to the party in the past.

He declined to say whether Mr Richards's admission had brought the party into disrepute but conceded that it had harmed his prospects if he did bring an appeal.

Carole Hyde, who sits on the appeals panel, said, "It is very sad that it has come to this.

"Speaking in a personal capacity, I think Rod needs to forget about the Conservative Party for a time until he can get himself back on an even keel."

Mrs Hyde said there was no chance that he would he allowed on to the list at this stage.